Social-psychological factors in the dietary quality of married and single elderly.

The objective of this study was to examine the social-psychological correlates of diet quality of elderly married couples and elderly single women. The social-psychological factors included: personality, social interaction, and social influence variables. Eighty-two married couples (164 respondents) and 69 single women were randomly selected and interviewed. It was found that social influence variables were more important factors in determining quality of diet than either personality or social interaction variables. The elderly single women's higher quality diet was associated with more reliable sources of influence than those of the elderly married, a condition attributed to the independence and competencies required by their single living arrangements. For married couples, role dissatisfaction had negative consequences for wives' diets, and husbands' involvement in family food decisions had positive consequences for their own diet quality.